Eight Players Return for a Date with Destiny in Final Day of WSOP Europe Main Event
Poker players from all corners of the world have shed blood, sweat and tears over the last two weeks at King's Resort in Rozvadov in the hopes of grabbing one of the 15 bracelets up for grabs at the 2023 World Series of Poker Europe.
Fourteen hopefuls have already etched their names in poker's history books, but the biggest and most coveted prize of the festival has still yet to find its rightful owner. That will all be changed over the next few hours as the record-breaking WSOPE Main Event will crown its champion later today.
Just eight of the 817 entries are left in the series showstopper, and they return to the final table at 2 p.m. local time to continue their pursuit of the €1,500,000 winner's prize along with the piece of WSOP hardware. The PokerNews coverage will begin at 3 p.m., to stay in sync with the live stream.
Best positioned to do that is Taiwanese poker vlogger Eric Tsai (23,650,000), who put on a masterclass in the Main Event's penultimate day. He starts the finale as chip leader and is the only player who has breached the 20 million chip mark.
His closest rival is Kasparas Klezys (13,950,000), a relative newcomer to tournament poker, having recorded his first cash in 2017. Despite his career still being in its infancy, the Lithuanian poker player is no stranger to the bright lights of Rozvadov, having picked up two WSOP Circuit rings here. Klezys is a true grinder and has notched 97 cashes over six years, which has seen his total live earnings balloon to $651,940. His best cash also came during the 2023 WSOPE, where he finished in third place in Event #6: €5,000 Pot Limit Omaha for €97,600 ($104,728).
Final Table Seat Draw
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michele Tocci | Italy | 6,525,000 | 26 |
| 2 | Michael Rocco | United States | 8,000,000 | 32 |
| 3 | Eric Tsai | Taiwan | 23,650,000 | 95 |
| 4 | Nils Pudel | Germany | 9,875,000 | 40 |
| 5 | Kasparas Klezys | Lithuania | 13,950,000 | 56 |
| 6 | Max Neugebauer | Austria | 10,325,000 | 41 |
| 7 | Ruslan Volkov | Ukraine | 6,000,000 | 24 |
| 8 | Alf Martinsson | Sweden | 3,150,000 | 13 |
26-year-old Max Neugebauer (10,325,000) rounds out the top three chip counts and is one of a few players to have locked up the biggest scores of their career thanks to a deep run in the Main Event. The Austrian pro has $84,822 in live earnings and has already guaranteed himself a €148,000 ($160,983) payday thanks to his efforts so far.
Just one big blind behind him is Nils Pudel (9,875,000), who announced himself to the world during the 2022 EPT London Main Event, where he bowed out in sixth place for $152,385. Pudel's run in the English capital was cut short after his aces were cracked, but yesterday, he was on the right side of lady luck as he found a huge double at the end of the night after hitting a three-outer to preserve his tournament life.
American poker pro Michael Rocco (8,000,000) also finds himself with a seat at the table. Rocco was denied his first bracelet in Event #8: €25,000 GGMiliion€, and ended up as the runner-up to Daniel Dvoress. Rocco has been on the best run of his career over the last two years, notching $1,682,974 in live cashes.
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (EUR) | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | €1,500,000 | $1,631,588 | ||
| 2 | €891,000 | $969,163 | ||
| 3 | €639,000 | $695,056 | ||
| 4 | €464,000 | $504,704 | ||
| 5 | €341,000 | $370,914 | ||
| 6 | €255,000 | $277,370 | ||
| 7 | €193,000 | $209,931 | ||
| 8 | €148,000 | $160,983 | ||
| 9 | Yulian Bogdanov | Bulgaria | €115,300 | $125,415 |
Michele Tocci (6,525,000), Ruslan Volkov (6,000,000) and Alf Martinsson (3,150,000) prop up the aforementioned five players and will need a little bit of magic to spin up their stacks, should they wish to capture one of the major titles that is available in the poker calendar.
The remaining eight players return at 2 p.m. local time on Wednesday, November 15, to play down to a champion. The action picks up on Level 30 with blinds of 125,000-250,000 and a 250,000 big blind ante. The final table will be streamed on an hour-long delay on the King’s Resort official YouTube channel, with PokerNews’ coverage beginning at 3 p.m.
